Fruit and vegetable slicer



De 16, 1952 u. J. BRUALDI FRUIT AND VEGETABLE smcER nnentor Patented Dec. 16, 41952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRUIT AND tVEGETABLE SLICER Ulysses J. '.Brualdi, Ansonia, Conn. vAmili'cati'on July `15, 1950, Seri'al'No. 174,034

This zinvention lrelates to ycuttingmechanisms for lfoods, such as Afruits and vegetables, land an biect 'fis 'to provide an `improved construction of cutting mechanism 4arranged. for use in slicing, dcing,-or otherwise cutting fruits, vegetables and otherfood materials.

v'Afurther object isto'provide a portable cutting mechanism for kitch'en 'use rconstructed and -arranged ft'o permit the cutters "to beeasily removed `forfcleaning o1-other purposes andreplaced.

`Withthe 'foregoing and. other objects in View, I have devised the construction illustrated in the accompanyingdravving. l-tis, however, to be un derstoodthefinvention isin'ot limited to'the specic details of construction and arrangement shown, but lmay embody various Achanges and modifications Within the scope of the invention.

In'ftliis drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top .plan viewofa cutting mechanism constructed in accordance with one embodiment oiathe invention.;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. l.;

Fig. 3 is yaside'elevation of oriarorm of slicing cutterused in the illustrated mechanism, and

.'Fig. .4 isfiaront View .of .one end portion thereof.

'The V"illustrated .embodiment of the invention includes la'base .I I Iormedpf'wood, metal or other suitable material, but preferably metal recessed on the under side, k-asshown -inldotted lines I0, to reduce material and Weight. A holding or positioning .strip AI2 or the like may, yif desired, be secured along one edge of thevbasej I for engaging and positioning the base along the edge of a table or other support.

A container I3 for holding an article of food to be cut is rmly mounted on the base in any suitable manner, and has front and rear walls I4, |5 respectively, side Walls I6, I1, and an open top. As shown it is formed integral or in one piece with the base I I. As illustrated, a cubing cutter I8 has cutting blades I9 arranged crosswise to form a cubing cutter, for example for cutting sticks for French fries, and oppositely extending arms 2| slidably mounted in parallel vertical slots 22 formed in the front and rear Walls I4, I5. The upper ends of the slots 22 at the tops of the Walls are open to permit the arms 2| being freely inserted therein. A handle or linger grip 24 secured to each arm 2| is located on the outside of the associated slot for pressing the cutter I8 down through the article of food in the container I3.

A slicing cutter 25 is formed with a plurality of parallel blades 26 and has oppositely extending arms 21 lslidably positioned in parallel horizontal (Cl. 1.46--7S) slots 28 in .thefront-and rear Walls I4, |5:inter sectin'g 'the vertical slots 22, as shown in Fig. -2. A handle Vornger grip 29 is secured to each arm 21 Afor sliding the slicing 'cutter 25 horizontally through the slots 28 to slice an article of food in the container I3. Stationary handles or nger grips l3| are secured to the respective side Walls I4, I5 at one end of each slot 28 to assist in oper ating the vhorizontally movable cutter 25 by squeezing the handles or grips 29, 3| together.

As shown in Fig. 2, `the cubing cutter I8 Ais of such Width relative tothe container I3 thatit can be moved vertically through the container when the slicing cutter 25 is positioned at the extreme right, as shown in broken lines. Likewise, when the cubing'cutter I8 is on the bottom of the container I3, the slicing "cutter 25 can be moved Yabov'e'it'horizontally across the container.

In operation, `an article of food to be cutsuch, for example, vasa potato 32, is `placed in the containerl. i'I cubesticks only are desired, the slicing :cutter 25^ispushed to inoperativeiposition at the sideand the cubingcutter I8 is presseddown- Wardly through Itheiarticleb'y pressing -thehandles 24, the arms 2| sliding through the vertical slots 22. If desired, the bottom surface of `the container may be rough'eneol somewhat as shown at 33, to prevent the 'article being cut `from sliding sidevvise. If vit is desired to dice the cube sticks, the cubing cutter IS is left in the bottom of the container vat the end of its cutting stroke and the slicingfcutter is moved horizontally .through the .cube sticks to the left in Fig. .2 by :squeezing together the handles 2S, 3 When these two cuts have been completed, the container is tilted to empty out the cut particles or cubes. The slicing cutter can then be returned to its starting position, as shown in the drawing, or removed from the container for cleaning by shifting to the center to bring connections 21 in alignment with vertical slots 22 and shifting the cutter upwardly with these connections in the vertical parts of the slots and out the top. The cubing cutter I8 can then be lifted out through the open ends of the slots 22.

When slicing only is desired, the Slicer 25 alone is used. If, for example, it is desired to then cut the sliced material in half, an ordinary knife can be used by sliding it down through the vertical slots 22. The cubing cutter I8 is readily removable, and the slicing cutter 25 can also be removed for cleaning or the like by sliding the arms 21 along the horizontal slots 28 and then up through theA vertical slots 22. The cutters are interchangeable so that the slicing cutter 25 can be employed in the vertical slots 22, 23 and the cubing cutter I8 in the horizontal slots 28, if desired, and either cutter can be put aside if it is not needed.

The construction is simple, rugged, and easily operated and cleaned, and it provides a longlived cutting tool having no springs orisimilar parts to get out of order. The specic structure described can be variously modified and adapted Within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim:

1. A fruit and vegetable slicer comprising a container including spaced Walls having separate pairs of parallel guide slots arranged at right angles to each other, a cubing cutter including a frame having a plurality of crosswise extending cutters, means supporting said cubing cutter for movement through said container in a determinate direction including oppositely extending arms sldably engaging one of said pairs of slots, a slicing cutter including a frame having a plurality of parallel cutters, and means supporting said slicing cutter for movement through said container in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of said cubing cutter, including oppositely extending arms slidably engaging the other of said pairs of slots, and handles on said arms for respectively moving said cutter frames through said container.

2. A fruit and vegetable slicer comprising a container having upright spaced side walls, a cubing cutter including a plurality of parallel crosswise extending cutting blades, means supporting said cubing cutter for movement through said container in a determinate direction including aligned slots in said walls and operating means for said cubing cutter comprising hand grips outside the walls with connections to the cutter extending through and guided by said slots, a slicing cutter including a plurality of parallel cutting blades, and means supporting said slicing cutter for movement through said container in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of said cubing cutter including aligned slots in said Walls intersecting said first slots, and operating means for said slicing cutter comprising hand grips outside the Walls and connections therefrom to this cutter extending through and guided by said slots.

3. A fruit and Vegetable Slicer comprising a container having upright spaced side Walls, a cubing cutter including a plurality of parallel crosswise extending cutting blades, means supporting said cubing cutter for movement through said container in a determinate direction including aligned vertical slots in said Walls and operating means for said cubing cutter extending through and guided by said slots, a slicing cutter including a plurality of parallel cutting blades, and means supporting said slicing cutter for movement through said container in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of said cubing cutter including aligned horizontal slots in said walls intersecting said vertical slots, and operating means for said slicing cutter extending through and guided by said horizontal slots.

4. A fruit and vegetable slicer comprising a container having upright spaced side Walls, a cubing cutter including a plurality of parallel crosswise extending cutter blades, means supporting said cubing cutter for movement through said container in a determinate direction including aligned vertical slots in said Walls and operating means for said cubing cutter extending through and guided by said slots, a slicing cutter including a plurality of parallel cutting blades, and means supporting said slicing cutter for movement through said container in a direction at right angles to the direction of movement of said cubing cutter including aligned horizontal slots in said walls intersecting said vertical slots, and operating means for said slicing cutter extending through and guided by said horizontal slots, said vertical slots being open at the top edges of said side Walls to permit insertion and removal of said operating means so that said cutterscan be assembled and disassembled with said container.

ULYSSES J. BRUALDI.

REFERECES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS f Germany June l, 1937V 

